Addicted to the -er

In my senior seminar religion class, we had a speaker come in and talk about sex trafficking and why it happens so easily. Although there are many factors that go into it, one thing that she said really struck me. We’re addicted to the -er. I’m not sure if it’s a human nature thing or just a part of our culture here in the United States. We always want better, nicer, faster, bigger, stronger. We aim to be smarter and healthier. Nothing really seems to be enough. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I live that way too. But the way she said it got me thinking. What if we spent our lives focused on the things we do have instead of feeding our addiction to the -er?

Because we all have that addiction in common, it’s very easy strike up conversations with strangers about it. Even a simple comment will slip without thought like “this line is taking so long” or “it’s just way too hot out today”. These are negative comments that we make because the universe is not feeding our addiction the way we want it to. Now, I’m not trying to scold those who act like this. I’m pretty sure we all do once in a while. But I do challenge you just for one day to be aware of your own addiction to the -er. Live in the moment. Practice patience in the super long line and enjoy the summer heat. Realize that everything is okay. You will be okay. You don’t need the -er. You don’t need the line to be faster or it to be cooler out. It’s only your addiction speaking.

This post is pretty short compared to my others, but I don’t really know what else to say. I’ll keep it short and sweet: go ahead and embrace your addiction. But please, please be aware of it and how it affects your daily life. And if you’re feeling extra bold? Take a day to combat it. I promise it’ll be so worth it.